Method and apparatus for monitoring and responding to land use activities

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use of land. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at a specified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The system continuously receives new land use data, The system identifies land use events at the specified site and filters these monitoring hits against alert criteria. The system then generates alerts to specified parties. Based on these alerts, proactive steps of intervention can be undertaken. The invention answers the question of how to manage risks relating to the use of land resulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/897,545 filed Jul. 23, 2004, which claims priority from ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 60/489,998 filed Jul. 24, 2003, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to land use. More particularly, the inventionrelates to a method and apparatus for monitoring and responding to landuse activities.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Any land based property, e.g. land, a building, an apartment, acommercial structure, which may include such resources as a water well,is not only an asset but also potentially a liability. The liabilityattendant with such a property is typically attributable to anypollution in the ground, any noise or air pollution related to theproperty, or any potentially dangerous use of the property. Therefore,the owner (or sometimes the user, such as tenant) of a property needs toprotect his asset and manage such liability to optimize the net salesvalue or use value of the property (see FIG. 1, which is a graphicrepresentation of the asset and liability aspects of real property).

The difficulty of managing land based assets and liabilities is thatthey exist in a dynamic environment with constant changes and outsideinfluences (see FIG. 2, which is a graphic representation of thepotential economic risks and losses associated with real property).

Events External to Site

Today more than ever, it is important to monitor events occurring in thevicinity of a site. These external events or activities can be of manydifferent kinds, such as set forth in FIG. 2, but they not limited tosuch activities. For example, a change in zoning law can increase ordecrease the land based property by either expanding or limiting thefuture use of the property. A change in traffic can also increase ordecrease the property's value. In the case of a residential area theimpact of a traffic pattern change is negative; in a retail environmentcertain kinds of traffic increase can be very positive for the use valueand therefore value of the property.

In the event of underground pollution there is a serious liabilityrelated to the property. Often, even after a polluted site has beencleaned up, there remains some amount of residual contamination left inthe ground because today's technology and/or exorbitant costs do notallow a complete clean-up. Furthermore, often the pollution is notlimited to the site, but extends underground to neighboring areas.

Pollution is not limited to underground pollution. It could be, forexample, air pollution or noise, which travels outside of the boundariesof a property. In the above cases, a property owner is often not onlyliable for the pollution attributable to the site owned, but also forit's outside reach, even though the owner has no control over such area.If today someone uses the land inappropriately the likely damages causedby the property owner increase. For example, there are an estimated250,000 to 400,000 active and former gas stations in the U.S., where nomore than 125,000 of those are actually active current gas stations. Gasstations are notorious underground polluters.

There is an additional important element of complexity, i.e. thepollution is often underground and is not limited to the boundary ofland ownership. The plume of such pollution often reaches intoneighboring properties and public roadways. Most of current and formergas stations, for example, have such underground pollution extendingoutside of the property boundaries, the plume (area) of which in mostcases extends to outside of the property. For example, consider a daycare center being built on a property in the vicinity of a current orformer gas station, where the plume extends under that property. Yearslater it becomes evident that the gases released from the plume havecaused a health damage to the people using the day care center. Withoutquestion, the gas station owner is liable for the damage, which nowextends to millions of dollars in legal costs, damages, and possiblepenalties. In this example, the wrong land use in the vicinity of theproperty has caused huge damage in liability costs to the propertyowner. This damage could have been easily averted if the property ownerhad been made aware during the planning stage that a day care center isbeing planned at the site. In that event the property owner could havetaken a range of actions, such as alerting the city planning departmentand asking them to revoke the building permit, providing an incentive tothe owner of the property for the planned day care center to find adifferent site, or finding a safer use for the property, such as acommercial building with appropriate engineering barriers, or a parkinggarage, etc.

Events Internal to Site

It is also important to monitor activities occurring at the site. Thisis important for reasons such as unauthorized access and protectionagainst fire and other emergencies. However, there is a new element andthat is to monitor the land use at the site.

The land use can be restricted in a number of ways, such as:

-   -   Local and regional zoning restrictions;    -   Deed restrictions, i.e. restrictions which are documented in the        deed of land; and    -   Institutional controls (for a definition, see below).

This is often necessary because not all the pollution can be removed.Such limits, for example, specify that the land can be used for certaintypes of commercial use, but not for residential development, or thatnone of the ground can be removed or dug into.

Many institutional controls have been implemented over the past 3-5years. However, to date there is no method to monitor the enforcement ofsuch controls.

PRIOR ART

-   -   Today, there are many tools that may be used to manage events        internal to the site, i.e. any activities not related to        external influences. These tools include fire or smoke        detectors, heat and motion sensors, video cameras, groundwater        and other sampling methods, and similar tools. For example, a        fire or security alarm system alarm monitors the internal events        and determines, for example, “Is there any smoke or fire?” or        “Is there an intruder physically at the site trying to enter the        building or property or certain areas within the property?” The        person monitoring the cameras or data collection with respect to        these alarm systems may or may not be located at the site.

These methods have in common that they detect a physical change orelement, such as chemicals in the air or physical objects moving in thevicinity. These methods do not address the issue of how the land isbeing used, nor how the adjacent land is being used. Furthermore, whiletoday's tools may detect the presence of something, they can not detectfuture or intended events. Finally, none of today's methods ofmonitoring are linked to a fixed geographic area or space.

Groundwater and soil sampling is the method currently used byenvironmental regulators. Monitoring wells from which samples are takenquarterly are installed at and around a polluted site. The resultsprovide information of whether the contamination has changed at thatwell. The regulator deducts from a series of sampling results if thereare any positive or negative changes. The nature of quarterly samplinghas many shortcomings, including:

-   -   The sample is always post event or reactive. For example, the        sample picks up that the contamination has moved underground.        The sample can never be proactive, i.e. detect that an event is        about to happen, such as construction de-watering which can        cause changes in ground water patterns, which in turn shift or        move the contamination plume. Therefore, knowing about planned        construction and construction method could proactively avoid an        underground movement of the pollution;    -   The sample provides no information of the events above ground.        Sampling can never detect a change in land use, such as the        opening of a school, nor could it detect trenching work, such as        building a new sewer line through the contamination, possibly        exposing workers to unsafe conditions.

Geographic information, e.g. street address, longitude/latitude data,displayed on maps is also widely used. The most common use is of onlinemaps, such as driving directions. Earlier versions showed a propertylocation marked with a marker, which is typically positioned at thecenter of the geographic property. More advanced versions show theactual or estimated shape of the property location. More sophisticatedtools include, for example, a store locator. Other methods includeoverlays, where a certain characteristic, such as micro-climate, isimaged as a shape on top of a map.

Land use at a site is today regulated by the local/municipal andgovernment permitting process, as well as local, state and federalagencies. To some extent it is monitored after the permit has beenissued by building and other inspectors.

There are no known and effective methods of tracking institutionalcontrols. The EPA states in a draft paper “ . . . proper implementation,monitoring, and enforcement is essential to the effectiveness of the IC. . . . Draft Guide” (Institutional Controls: A Guide to Implementing,Monitoring, and Enforcing Institutional Controls, February 2003). Thispaper identifies the need for monitoring, but does not mention anymethod or procedure for accomplishing such monitoring.

Currently bills concerning land reuse and revitalization are in thelegislative process in California (California Land Reuse andRevitalization Act of 2004), other states, and on Federal level. Thesebills establish the legal framework to facilitate the redevelopment ofabout 600,000 brownfields in the U.S. These bills typically include anappropriate care requirement which provides that the new user of thebrownfield must be in compliance with land use controls established withrespect to the use of the site. There is currently no method inoperation to satisfy this requirement.

It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus formonitoring and responding to land use activities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use ofland. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at aspecified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The system continuouslyreceives new land use data, The system identifies land use events at thespecified site and filters these monitoring hits against alert criteria.The system then generates alerts to specified parties. Based on thesealerts, proactive steps of intervention can be undertaken. The inventionanswers the question of how to manage risks relating to the use of landresulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graphic representation of the asset and liability aspects ofreal property;

FIG. 2 is a graphic representation of the potential economic risks andlosses associated with real property;

FIG. 3 is a graphic representation of a method and apparatus formonitoring the use of land according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block schematic diagram showing four basic steps employed ina method according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram showing a targeting step accordingto the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block schematic diagram showing monitoring, filtering, andvalidation of land use data according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block schematic diagram showing events detected according tothe invention;

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram showing alerts procedures,customized to requirements according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram showing an act step, in particularsupport: alert response management, according to the invention;

FIG. 10 is a block schematic diagram showing an example of a Tracy,Calif. sewer project according to the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a block schematic diagram showing an example of a Saratoga,Calif. redevelopment and related activities according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring the use ofland. More specifically, the invention monitors the use of land at aspecified site, as well as at adjacent sites. The system continuouslyreceives new land use data, The system identifies land use events at thespecified site and filters these monitoring hits against alert criteria.The system then generates alerts to specified parties. Based on thesealerts, proactive steps of intervention can be undertaken. The inventionanswers the question of how to manage risks relating to the use of landresulting from external activities and how to intervene proactively.This is illustrated graphically in FIG. 3.

Definition of Terms Used

The following definitions shall apply in connection with the discussionherein:

Site: A specific geographic area of any size, typically as small as aresidential parcel of land, or as large as an airport or even a nationalpark. The definition of a site is also used in an expanded manner, suchas the area along an infrastructure, such as a pipeline or a street.Such a site can include the area taken up by the infrastructure plus anarea of a certain width to either side of the infrastructure. Theboundaries of a site do not need to align with the boundaries of thelegal description of a property, such as boundaries of a parcel. Sitesmay have three dimensions, which include width, length, and height ordepth, as well as four dimensions, e.g. time varying aspects of the sitemay be considered.

Land Use: Land use comprises any way of using the land of a site whichcan be, for example, a residential home, day care, commercial use,agricultural use, mining of resources of any kind, use of water (waterwell), use as airport, or any other activity performed on, under, orabove the land.

Institutional Control This is a new class of land use restriction. If asite has been polluted by a responsible party (the polluter), theresponsible party, the local government, other agencies, and otherparties such as a developer can reach an agreement, which specifies thedegree to which the land needs to be cleaned up, as well as land usecontrols, called institutional controls. These institutional controlslimit how the land can be used. This is often necessary because not allthe pollution can be removed. Such limits for example specify that theland can be used for certain types of commercial use, but that it is notfit for residential development, or that none of the ground can beremoved or dug into. The institutional control can also require certainengineering controls to be in place, which are physical building andengineering requirements and which can include, for example, physicalmonitoring equipment, requirements that the surfaces need to be builtupon in a certain manner, or that water or vapor, for example, can orcan not penetrate or escape.

There are at least two types of institutional control, to whit:

-   -   Soft Institutional Controls: These controls are self-imposed by        a responsible party, and typically are not required by any        regulatory or government agency    -   Hard Institutional Controls: These are institutional controls        that are imposed by a third party who is not the owner, user,        and/or polluter of the site.        Discussion

The presently preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a databasecontaining the Site description data of the site to be monitored:

-   -   This description can be as simple as the location of the site,        whereas the location can be described in any manner, from        longitude/latitude parameters, parcel number, street address,        grid based mapping location, and/or altitude, elevation, or        depth.    -   Additional information can include:        -   A detailed description of elements of interest, such as the            pollution;        -   A graphical description, e.g. an outline of the location of            the pollution;        -   Contact names and addresses;        -   A description of the institutional controls.    -   In addition the description can include one or multiple zones,        where a different monitoring and alert procedure can be provided        for each zone.    -   The description may also include pictures or other visual        elements.    -   The zones or other above information can be visualized, e.g.        drawn on a two- or multi-dimensional map.

The invention further comprises a database which includes the IC Rulesdata (Institutional Control Rules). These IC rules describe therestriction and alert procedures such as, but not limited to:

-   -   Different restrictions specified for each zone, established        above;    -   The elements and frequency of monitoring the land use; and    -   The rules for alerting one or multiple parties regarding any        violations or conflicts with the

The system includes a database containing land use activity data. Thisdata can either be generated by the system or provided by third parties.This data comprises any kind of data which can be related to ageographic location of the site, and varies between different locations.For example, the school zone, Congressional district, micro-climate inthe area of the site, vicinity of other sites, such as a store, anycrime statistics in neighborhood.

These data include, but are not limited to, such data as:

-   -   Any kind of real estate data, e.g. sales, zoning, current use,        tenant, rent rates;    -   Water well related data;    -   Building permit data or application data;    -   EPA data;    -   Requests for excavation, as well as excavation permits;    -   Any other land use related data;    -   Chemical spill data;    -   School, education data;    -   Political representation data;    -   Traffic data;    -   Socio demographic data, e.g. income, age, race, education;    -   Commercial data, e.g. type of business, sales, industry;    -   Crime rates, sex offender data;    -   Noise, air, climate data;    -   Health data, death rates and causes; and    -   Real time data provided by sensors, e.g. motion sensors, release        of gas sensors, video camera. Sensors herein are defined as any        device capturing real time physical activities or events.

Furthermore, in an extension, the activity data may not already exist asdata, but may need in an additional step to be generated using otherdata and/or other activity data sets and logic rules.

In a further extension, the data may need to be collected using physicalmeasuring instruments or other tools.

The system includes a logic module, which monitors the land useaccording to the IC rules using the activity data. The logic moduleassembles the data of the site in question into a shape file, whichexpands across a specific geographic area. The system then translatesthe activity data into a shape file with its specific geographic area,e.g. two-dimensional area of longitude and latitude, it may occupy at ashort or long moment of time. The system then compares the twogeographic areas to each other to determine and search for any areaoverlaps. If there is an overlap, the system logic module prepares andsends an alert.

Further extensions of the logic module include:

-   -   The shape area can be a three-dimensional shape, e.g. longitude,        latitude and altitude;    -   The shape can be two-dimensional, where one dimension is        altitude, elevation, or depth;    -   Shapes can be virtual, such as for example local demographics,        which might be expressed as income per household and linked to        geography via the description of the ZIP code, outline of school        district, street blocks, or other such identifier, describing        characteristics;    -   Shapes can be of any size, e.g. they could be on the level of        atoms or cosmic scale;    -   The shapes can have time as an additional fourth dimension;    -   The system can compare multiple shapes against each other to        search for any type of overlaps, e.g. simple or multiple        overlaps;    -   The shapes can be dynamic, and change according to logical        rules, such as:        -   Change in size; and/or        -   Change in location;    -   A person or object could be a shape owning a geographic location        for some moments in time;    -   Shapes can merge and split apart;    -   Alerts can be of any electronic or printed format, such as        email, voicemail, fax, certified mail, etc.;    -   One or multiple parties can be alerted;    -   There can be additional logic rules outlining an escalation path        for the alert mechanism;    -   An alert can be driven or initiated based on a specified time        sequence of events;    -   The alert logic module includes simple or extensive steps to        verify the alert, such as for example:        -   Check against other data sources to check plausibility or            seriousness;        -   Request from one or more systems additional information            needed for evaluation; and/or        -   To include manual operator input.

In a further extension, the system may include another logic module,referred to as an action module. This module receives the alert andcreates corrective action steps based on the alert. A corrective actionis any activity, which is not an alert or an evaluation of an alert. Itcan be an automated letter of complaint, a warning to the party havingcaused the alert to stop certain activities or introduce activities. Forexample, the letter might demand a polluting company to stop certainemissions. It may be a legal disclosure letter to the purchaser of theproperty next to the site, to make sure that the new owner is aware ofcertain land use restrictions.

In further embodiments:

-   -   The data may be distributed among systems, which may be        networked together via the Internet or other methods;    -   The logic module and action module may be physically the same        hardware; and    -   The logic and or action module tasks may be done by multiple        modules and/or systems, which may be distributed, and may        interact over the Internet.        Architecture

A currently preferred embodiment of the architecture of the invention isoutlined below.

The system comprises the following:

-   -   A database to store:        -   Sites and their characteristics;        -   Logic rules;        -   Output data (history);        -   Administration data, user password and other such            information;    -   User interfaces for data input:        -   Which is a Web based interface and associated screens;        -   User controls to upload information;        -   A system to system link, such as XML technology; and        -   A mobile computer unit;    -   A processor for applying the logic to the data, do computing        (today typically done by an application server);    -   A processor to present the output, (today typically done by a        Web server) and to present the output;    -   Output interfaces, such as:        -   Web based interface to see results;        -   User controls to output data, results;        -   Distribute the results electronically, e.g. email, computer            to computer, computer to fax or other output devices;        -   System to system link using the XML technology; and        -   A remote, mobile unit.

This architecture can be on the same physical computer, or it can bemulti-tier and be distributed across a network of computers, eachperforming some of the tasks.

Additional Applications of the Invention

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the user can interact anduse the system over the Internet. However, the user does not need to doso. All interaction between the system to provide data, receive alerts,and/or corrective actions can be delivered via multiple other methods.

In another embodiment of the invention, the activity data reside outsideof the system, and the system logic comprises a procedure to queryanother system, e.g. via a network such as the Internet, to get thedata.

In another embodiment of the invention, the logic rules are distributedamong multiple systems and computers, such as in the implementation ofthe invention in the form of a Web service.

The invention is especially powerful if a historic sequence of events isanalyzed. The logic module includes rules which allow the detection ofpatterns over time. These patterns are used to predict events beforethey happen. For example, if the historic records show that the zoninghas changed, and then a neighboring property is offered for sale, andthat the sale has occurred, this might indicate that a new owner maychange the use of the adjacent property, which might includeconstruction.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the system can also be used topredict certain other events before they occur, i.e. the logic rules caninclude the evaluation of additional data, such as the age of theproperty sold, the economic trends in the neighborhood, and other datapoints. For example, if the property purchased is over 30 years old, andif in general the area is in a phase of redevelopment, then there is arelatively high certainty that the new owner may demolish the existingstructure and rebuild.

In a further embodiment, the system can be expanded to be used in thecontext of a planning process. For example, a city planner can use thesystem to proactively learn about IC Controls and thus use the systemfor better planning process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION AS APPLIED TO MONITORING OF LAND USE

One example of the application of the invention is in the area ofenvironmental land use control. Such an application consists typicallyof four steps: target, monitor, alert, and act. FIG. 4 is a blockschematic diagram showing the four basic steps employed in a methodaccording to the invention

1. Target

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram showing a targeting step accordingto the invention.

The site to be monitored is entered into the system. This can be donemanually over the user interface or automatically by uploading the data.

The site to be monitored in the system is set up in the system. The sitemust be described in geographic terms which can be, for example, astreet address and street intersection, a parcel number, longitude andlatitude, a grid map, such as Thompson Brother Map, GPS data entry, forexample by walking around the site with a GPS tool, and adding GPSpoints, or other type a geographic identification data, which allows thesite to be located geographically.

The site can be described by one or multiple zones, each descriptionbeing a zone. The zone description can be simple, e.g. circle of 0.1mile diameter, or a complex shape with exact GPS data points, as shownin FIG. 5.

In addition to setting up the zone or zones the user can specify, forexample:

-   -   What data sources need to be monitored against such zone;    -   The alert criteria for each zone and or data. The alert criteria        can be simple, e.g. a one sentence statement. The alert criteria        can also specify the alert path, who needs to be informed first,        second, and so on, based on which event and when. These alert        criteria can include soft or hard institutional controls or in        essence are the representation of institutional controls in the        system;    -   Follow up or act, what action the system or system operator        should take to follow up on the alert.

This set up is typically done once and updated over time if need be. Thetargeting can contain additional information, which could be extensiveenvironmental reports and data about the site.

The data entry can also be achieved by default parameters, allowing oneto enter a great number of sites, or sites where little information isavailable at the time of data entry.

2. Monitor

FIG. 6 is a block schematic diagram showing monitoring, filtering, andvalidation of land use data according to the invention

This second step is an ongoing activity as the system receives new dataabout land-use activities, such as in this example real estate data orexcavation notices, e.g. a utility company is a replacing sewer pipe,and other data.

These data of events need a geographic description of where the event isabout to occur, such as excavation notices which are received typically24 hours before the event, or has occurred such as a real estate sale orbuilding permit issue). This description can be of one or multiple types(same as zoning).

The system then checks the geography of the event against the geographyof the zone. It does nothing if the event does not overlap with one ormultiple zones.

If it does overlay, the system notes the overlap in a monitoring report,a sample of which can look like the background of FIG. 6.

The report shows the address or identifier of the site, the address ofthe event, and possibly a short description, providing more detail ofthe event.

The report can also be a geographic representation as shown in FIG. 7.This representation shows the site and the events. It could be graphicas shown in FIG. 7, it could be shown as a map, or it could also includean aerial picture.

3. Alert

FIG. 8 is a block schematic diagram showing alerts procedures,customized to requirements according to the invention.

In this third step the monitoring report, which is basically a hitreport, indicates that there is an event within a zone. However, theevent might not be cause for alarm. The alert does filter the monitoringhits against the alert criteria. Only if there is a fit is an alertcreated.

For example, if the plume (pollution area) shown in FIG. 7 is twentyfeet under ground, and the sewer replacement is only eight feet deep,then there is no cause to send an alert because the event is notcritical. However, if the plume is four feet underground, there is greatsafety and health concern for the excavation worker and an alert needsto be sent to the persons or systems as specified in the alert criteriain step 1 above.

-   -   This review of the monitoring results against the alert criteria        can be done manually, i.e. a person does the review and uses the        system to create the alert by an interface. It could also be        done by the logic of the system, or in a split fashion, where        the system does some review along basic rules and the human        expert does others. The same approach can be used with the        sending of alerts, which could be done by system, manually, or        in a combination thereof.

The alert can be sent to the user via email, or output to other devices,such as a fax system, This is push method, pushing the alert to theuser, responsible party, or whoever needs to receive the alert. The usercan also go to the system and see the alert there, which is the oftenless effective pull method.

FIG. 9, on the left hand, shows an alert. There is a map of the site andevent, a brief description of the site, and the event, as well as asummary of actions taken in response to the alert. This action summaryis updated as new actions are done and recorded in the system. This isjust one example of the representation of the alert.

4. Act

FIG. 9 is a block schematic diagram showing an act step, in particularsupport: alert response management, according to the invention.

Steps 1. to 3. discussed above are key to the invention. Step 4 can havemultiple forms and is a logic extension.

For example, the system can contain a case management tool, whichassures that no alert is dropped, thus forcing the system user andoperator to monitor the alert action and make sure something happens.

Often for large complex companies it is important to coordinate theresponse and actions. The system could provide the basis for such steps,which would be case management or project tools.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show examples of how a system as outlined in thisinvention would have detected such activities. In particular, FIG. 10 isa block schematic diagram showing an example of a Tracy, Calif. sewerproject according to the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a block schematic diagram showing an example of a Saratoga,Calif. redevelopment and related activities according to the invention.

Other Applications of the Invention

The invention is not limited to managing polluted sites as is outlinedherein.

The invention is not limited to longer term monitoring, such as watchinga site for months or decades. The invention could also be applied toshort term sites of interest, such as for utility construction. In thisexample the utility company uses the system to plan and execute itswork. The geographic area targeted in this example is the area along andaround the planned utility trenching work. Once the work is completed,such as when a new sewer system is built, the site is taken again out ofthe system.

Further, the geographic area zone could be smaller and changing overtime. For example, the area could be the dimensions of a car or truck,changing its geographic position as and when it moves. Furthermore, itcould include not only the actual, real time position of the zone, butdescribe a planned move, such as the route where the vehicle plans togo. In other words, the zone of travel is the land use for a short timeperiod. For example, planning the route of a truck containing hazardousmaterials can identify where the land use of the road for the materialsmight not be appropriate or very risky with respect to the other landuses of that road or around the road, and consequently an alternativeroute should be selected. For example, it might not be appropriate tochoose a road for a truck containing explosive materials which travelsalong the route of an oil pipeline.

The invention as here described is not limited to the physical structureof a pollution plume. It could include any above or underground physicalstructure. It may include dynamic pollution, such as air pollution whichmoves over time.

Furthermore, as seen in the next example the invention is not limited tophysical structures.

The invention can be expanded to manage institutional controls withrespect to the use of air space above a physical property. With theaddition of time as a fourth dimension the invention can be used tomanage flights above the site. It is interesting to note that in thisexpansion there is no physical structure, but solely the concept of airspace rights.

The invention can be used for national security tasks, such as analyzingthe historic land use against certain profiles and provide an alert ifthere is a match.

The invention can be used for the due diligence process of any realestate transaction.

The invention can be used to manage assets, for example:

-   -   Such as private water wells. The owner uses the system to learn        early of any activities which might diminish the value of his        assets, in other words that are a threat to pollute his water or        his ability to exploit the well;    -   Store property. For example, a store owner or store operator        might want to know the change of traffic patterns, of available        store space, new store leases, new openings, local demographic        shifts in relationship to his store location, to optimize his        business

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1. A computer implemented apparatus for monitoring use of land,comprising: a database comprising site description data of a siteidentified to be monitored in connection with one or more zonescomprising any of a property management zone, an intrusion protectionzone, and a resource zone, wherein said site comprises a specificgeographic area, and wherein boundaries of said site do not necessarilyalign with boundaries of a legal description of a property; wherein saiddata further comprise data which vary between different geographiclocations within said site, and said at least one land use restriction;said database further comprising alert criteria which specify when analert should be generated based upon detection of land use violation; acomputer executable logic module configured for regularly monitoring ongoing land use activities in connection with said site in view of atleast one land use restriction which limits how said site can be used,and for maintaining data said database that are generated as a result ofsaid monitoring by said logic module, wherein said data related to landuse activities in conjunction with a particular geographic location ofsaid site are any of automatically generated and provided by thirdparties; said logic module further configured for monitoring land useactivities at said different locations within said site and configuredfor detecting at least one specific land use activity that violates saidat least one land use restriction within said one or more zones; saidlogic module further configured for detecting violation of said at leastone of said land use restrictions within said one or more zones bymatching said alert criteria to said data resulting from said monitoringof one of said different geographic locations within said site; and saidlogic module further configured for generating and providing an alert ifa land use violation is detected at-least one of said differentgeographic locations within said site within a zone associated with saidsite that matches said alert criteria.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said logic module assembles said activity data into a shape filewhich expands across a specific geographic area.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, further comprising: means for translating said activity datainto said shape file; and means for comparing geographic areasrepresented by said activity data and said shape file to each other todetermine and search for any area overlaps, wherein if there is anoverlap, said logic module prepares and sends an alert.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein said site description data comprise any of: locationof said site, wherein said location is described in any oflongitude/latitude parameters, parcel number, street address, grid basedmapping location, and/or altitude or elevation; a detailed descriptionof elements of interest; a graphical description; contact names andaddresses; a description of said institutional control; pictures orother visual elements.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, said sitecomprising: a plurality of zones, wherein a different monitoring and/oralert procedure can be provided for each zone.
 6. The apparatus of claim1, said database further comprising a plurality of IC rules, whereinsaid IC rules describe restriction and alert procedures which compriseany of: different restrictions specified for each of a plurality ofzones; elements and frequency of monitoring the land use; and rules foralerting one or multiple parties regarding any violations or conflictswith said IC rules.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said land useactivity data comprises data related to a geographic location of saidsite and which varies between different locations.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said land use activity data comprises any of: realestate data which comprises any of sales, zoning, current use, tenant,and rent rates; water well related data; building permit data orapplication data; EPA data; requests for excavation, as well asexcavation permits; land use related data; chemical spill data; school,education data; political representation data; traffic data;socio-demographic data which comprises any of income, age, race, andeducation; commercial data which comprises any of type of business,sales, and industry; crime rates; sex offender data; any of noise, air,and climate data; any of health data, death rates and causes; and realtime data provided by sensors, wherein said sensors comprises any devicethat is capable of capturing a real time physical activity.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said activity data does not initiallyexist as data, but is generated using other data and/or other activitydata sets and logic rules.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein saidactivity data is collected using physical measuring instruments.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein said logic module determines any of: ashape area comprising a three-dimensional shape comprising any oflongitude, latitude and altitude; a shape area comprising atwo-dimensional shape, where one dimension is altitude; a virtual shape;and a shape area comprising time as a fourth dimension.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, said logic module comprising: means for comparingmultiple shapes against each other to search for overlaps.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein said shape can be dynamic, and changeaccording to logical rules, which may include any of a change in size;and/or a change in location.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein anyof a person and object comprises a shape owning a geographic locationover time.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein shapes can be mergedand/or split apart.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein alertscomprise any of an electronic or printed format; wherein one or multipleparties can be alerted; wherein logic rules may be optionally providedoutlining an escalation path for the alert mechanism; and wherein analert can be driven or initiated based on a specified time sequence ofevents.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an alert logicmodule for executing steps to verify an alert, wherein such stepscomprise any of: checking against other data sources to checkplausibility or seriousness; requesting from one or more systemsadditional information needed for evaluation; and means for includingmanual operator input.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:an action module for receiving an alert and for creating correctiveaction steps based on said alert, wherein a corrective action is anyactivity which is not an alert or an evaluation of an alert.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein said corrective action comprises any of:an automated letter of complaint; a warning to a party having caused analert to stop certain activities or introduce activities; and a legaldisclosure letter to a purchaser of a property next to said site to makesure that the new owner is aware of certain land use restrictions.